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Nathan

Of several OT persons with this name, the best known is the prophet in the time of David. He was consulted about the propriety of building a Temple, and advised David to leave the project to his son Solomon (2 Sam. 7: 13); it would be a sign of the permanence of the house of David. Nathan rebuked David for arranging the death of Uriah in battle in order that he could marry Uriah's wife Bathsheba (2 Sam. 11: 12), which illustrates the religious tradition in Israel of a prophet's privilege of confronting the monarch himself. At the
end of David's reign, Nathan was instrumental in organizing the right of succession for Solomon (1 Kgs. 1: 13–14). He is said to have been a palace historian (1 Chron. 29: 29).